this thread has been really useful, but I had a quick question.
I went to the NPS office to apply for the lump sum payment as I am leaving in a month but she calculated it for 13 months not 12. Is the severance/bonus deducted for the pension or do we get the gross amount of our pay?

hey what if i'm planning on starting work in a non teaching job? can i just buy a plane ticket and then make sure it's refundable... get my plane ticket money from my school and apply for my pension and then cancel the plane ticket?

will my school somehow know and not give me the money for my plane ticket? also, will my pension be refunded? i won't be getting free housing so i'll most likely need to pay a 5mil or 10mil key money BS so i need as much money as i can to start the job!

I've been here nearly 10 years, I'm not sure if all my employers paid into the fund. But I should have somewhere between 15-20 Million won coming. If a lump sum is paid, how bad will the ding be when Uncle Sam gets his cut?

I've been here nearly 10 years, I'm not sure if all my employers paid into the fund. But I should have somewhere between 15-20 Million won coming. If a lump sum is paid, how bad will the ding be when Uncle Sam gets his cut?

Should be "0" and qualify for the exemption/deduction under "foreign earned income" (80-some-odd thousand dollars per year).

Do be aware however that if you actually hit the 10 year mark you are "vested" into the fund and don't get a cash refund - you get a pension when you retire at age 60.

I've been here nearly 10 years, I'm not sure if all my employers paid into the fund. But I should have somewhere between 15-20 Million won coming. If a lump sum is paid, how bad will the ding be when Uncle Sam gets his cut?

Should be "0" and qualify for the exemption/deduction under "foreign earned income" (80-some-odd thousand dollars per year).

Do be aware however that if you actually hit the 10 year mark you are "vested" into the fund and don't get a cash refund - you get a pension when you retire at age 60.

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Actually, I have hit the 10 year mark, but several of my employers prior to 2003 did not pay into it. Does that count?

I've been here nearly 10 years, I'm not sure if all my employers paid into the fund. But I should have somewhere between 15-20 Million won coming. If a lump sum is paid, how bad will the ding be when Uncle Sam gets his cut?

Should be "0" and qualify for the exemption/deduction under "foreign earned income" (80-some-odd thousand dollars per year).

Do be aware however that if you actually hit the 10 year mark you are "vested" into the fund and don't get a cash refund - you get a pension when you retire at age 60.

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Actually, I have hit the 10 year mark, but several of my employers prior to 2003 did not pay into it. Does that count?

10 years paid into the fund and you are vested. I would check (unless of course being vested into the fund works for you).

Okay having read the pension page I still have a question about the airport refund. Here is my situation:

*Been here one year.
*Contract ends February 25th.
*Taking my vacation before the end of the contract and leaving the country early. Sometime between February 7-18th.
*I will have a plane ticket to Japan, not my home country.

Can I get the immediate refund at the airport or am I disqualified because I will still be "under contract" at my time of departure and also because I am not immediately returning to my home country?

Okay having read the pension page I still have a question about the airport refund. Here is my situation:

*Been here one year.
*Contract ends February 25th.
*Taking my vacation before the end of the contract and leaving the country early. Sometime between February 7-18th.
*I will have a plane ticket to Japan, not my home country.

Can I get the immediate refund at the airport or am I disqualified because I will still be "under contract" at my time of departure and also because I am not immediately returning to my home country?

The pension office will refund any contributions the the employer has sent to them. Since you are under contract, the employer probably has not finished sending the final pension payments to the pension office.

You would have to wait until the contract is finished and the employer finalizes the last contributions on your and his behalf.

If you become vested do you need to retire in Korea to collect the pension?

No. You can collect the pension anywhere in the world after you reach retirement age.

Just supply your foreign bank account information on the form when you claim benefits. There's a space for it. Plenty of Koreans emigrate or retire abroad so it's not an unusal thing for the pension office to deal with.

I know about the ten year mark for the pension. However, I know how red-tape stuff works. I plan on leaving at about the 9 year and 2 month mark. My question is, if anyone knows, would the National Pension Office look at that as 9 years and 2 months, or IN my tenth year?

I know about the ten year mark for the pension. However, I know how red-tape stuff works. I plan on leaving at about the 9 year and 2 month mark. My question is, if anyone knows, would the National Pension Office look at that as 9 years and 2 months, or IN my tenth year?

If your pension plan starts when you get your ARC, does that mean your employer cannot start making contributions until after you have received your ARC?

I started working on September 26th, 2010. I received my ARC card on November 16th, 2010. The first reported contribution at the NPS is for the month of December 2010. This is the only reported contribution for the year 2010. However, my paycheck had the pension money deducted for the months of October and November.

So after working one full year, there were only 10 months on file. Is this normal?

The NPS said that my plan began in November, but that my employer chose not to contribute for that month(however, money was deducted for the pension plan for both October, my first working month, and November).